January 20th, 2025Just sayin’…
By Donna Kelly

Went for a bit of a roadtrip over the silly season. Up to family at Port Macquarie, then to Queensland for more family time, and then back down again.
We took the Tesla and it was a lot of fun. Mostly. There’s an EV thing called range anxiety. It happens when you start to wonder if you have enough power to get to the next charging station.
It shouldn’t really happen at all because you can plan a trip and the car’s computer tells you exactly how much power you will have left when you reach the next charging station on your journey.
That’s how it’s meant to happen. But one memorable day when we were going to end up in Coffs Harbour with 33 per cent, it trickled down to just four per cent.
I was having a meltdown, not literally because the aircon was humming away, but certainly my anxiety was up.
I managed to convince Kyle to call into our motel, about four kilometres from the charging station at the shopping centre down the road, and call for Tesla roadside service. Which we have.
Turns out the problem, running out of power, is our fault, so there is no service provided. Just a tow at the owner’s expense.
I was a bit annoyed with that. I mean, if you run out of petrol, the RACV will come and top you up. We just needed a few extra amps. I probably should have looked around for an extension lead instead of heading to the bar, while Kyle did the grown-up thing and pushed through the last few kilometres.
Each to their own – again I chose the wrong year to give up drinking.

Anyway, long story short, we got the top up and decided it was the extra hot, humid day – and the aircon – that had drained the battery so quickly.
After that, we had no problems and just enjoyed the quiet drive and the enforced breaks to power up – playing solitaire on the car’s huge screen. Not a bad idea really, in the past we have often pulled in for petrol and decided to go “just another 100km” without getting a rest.
The Tesla does well on the open road, no change between going up or down hills, no straining on gears and quiet as – although it does beep now and again if you go too close to other vehicles or the white lines on the side of the road.
And there is that pesky phantom braking now and again. Just Google that…
It was really nice to catch up with family too. Lots of kids on Kyle’s side and on my side more people trying to look after ageing parents and work their way through the tricky end-of-life stuff.
Dementia and cancer make for very hard work.
It also has those of us without children wondering who is going to step in and advocate.
Back at Glenlyon now, to a very dry garden, but also the wonderful sounds of summer – the cockies (as mentioned by Bill Wootton over the page there in his haiku) and lots of cicadas.
Our trip last year to Central America seems a long way back now, although Trump’s plans to reclaim the Panama Canal is a little triggering, and we have already booked a trip to the Med in November – all going well.
I think we have decided that rather than things, we really just want to gather up experiences as we get older.
And, like with Covid, you never know what is just around the corner. So we are making the most of life, having fun and hanging out with family and friends.
Oh, we even have two weddings to attend this year. One in Victoria and one in Sydney. One young couple – with one child, and one older couple who said it took 30 years to make sure they were the right fit.
I mentioned to a friend last night that I hadn’t been to a wedding for a long time. She said, quite gaily I thought, that I could start looking forward to funerals now. I guess there’s always a silver lining. Just sayin’ …